A Very SwanQueen Christmas
by PhoenixRising521
Summary: Emma gets an invite to the Mills' for Christmas.


Title: A Very SwanQueen Christmas

Disclaimer: I, sadly, still own nothing. No profits or SwanQueen canon.

A/N: I did do actual research on the book cover. Special thanks to ouaterbox for the gift recommendation and paelmoon for the pics. Gotta love twitter and tumblr peeps!

Sheriff Emma Swan walked determinedly down the hall, towards the Mayor's office. She approached the secretary, Melissa, with a polite smile. "I know I don't have an appointment. But, it truly would be a waste to turn me back around when I come bearing gifts." Emma held up the bags of take-out that she had brought with her from Granny's.

"If you take the smaller one here, which is for all your wonderful work, I'll just let myself in," she said with what she hoped was an even more angelic smile.

"At least give me time to get inside the elevator. Your death is your own…no matter how painful," Melissa said while taking the proffered bag.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun…as much as you can with the torture you're about to receive."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Emma muttered.

She waited for Melissa to reach the elevators. She flashed Emma one last grimace before stepping inside. Steeling herself for what was to come, she knocked before going ahead into the dragon's lair.

"I distinctly remember saying no interruptions," Regina said in that low register that meant the other person was in for some serious tongue lashing. Of course, it would never be the kind that Emma secretly desired.

Regina's eyes came up first when she was greeted with silence. Upon seeing who her visitor was, her head snapped up, readying her tongue for lashing out.

"Before you let me have it, let me speak first. Please?"

Regina's eyes narrowed at the use of _that _word. Emma quickly realized what she had said and started backtracking.

"Damn! Not please…um, a different word. Uh…" her mind scrambled for another word but came up blank.

"Relax Ms. Swan. I'm sure you meant no harm by it. Besides, I'd hate to see you burn up all of your few brain cells on one slip of the tongue."

Tongue…is truly all she heard. Again, she mentally shook her head and remembered the bag in her hand. "I brought lunch. A nice, wholesome salad for you. I know how much you detest anything fried," Emma said as she went about setting out the take-out containers.

After a few moments of eating and awkward glances, Regina broke the silence. "While I appreciate the olive branch…I know you swallowed your pride and came here for a reason. Shall we get to that before this becomes any more awkward?"

Sighing, Emma pushed her fries and sandwich away. "I just…Okay, thank you for letting me spend more time with Henry lately. I know it's gotta be hard for you. And, with Christmas around the corner…Well, I thought maybe…" she trailed off, not really knowing how to convey her thoughts. Taking a breath, she pushed on. "I thought maybe I could come over. It wouldn't have to be Christmas day. Like, maybe Christmas Eve? The fact is this is unfamiliar territory. Growing up, this time of the year didn't mean much. But, I'd like to have some sort of tradition with Henry."

Daring to look up, she tried to decipher the look in Regina's eyes. Regina, on her end, had felt a pang of guilt upon the mention of the blonde's childhood…or lack thereof. If she were honest with herself, she liked spending time with Emma. Despite, and maybe because of, all their fights, there was this charge of energy between them. She always found herself pushing into the Sheriff's personal bubble. Sure, it was exhilarating. However, there was something else there that she wasn't quite sure she wanted to touch on.

Taking the silence as a negative, Emma started, "It's okay. I mean, I wasn't looking to step on your toes or anything."

"Ms. Swan," Regina said to gain the woman's attention. "Christmas day would suffice. Henry has been hinting at it anyway."

"Really? Wow, that'd be great!" Without thinking, Emma reached over to place her hand over Regina's. Though it was brief, they both looked down upon feeling a spark of something.

Before Regina could filter herself, she added, "Why not come over Christmas Eve. That way you can see his reactions on Christmas morning?"

Stumped, Emma could do nothing more than offer a soft smile. A smile that Regina returned. There was definitely something there that neither one wanted to comment on and, at the same time, both wanted it and so much more.

"Well, I've taken up enough of your day. Seems I have some shopping to do. Good day, Madam Mayor."

"Good day, Sheriff."

As Emma left the office, Regina sat at her desk with the soft smile on her lips. It soon drifted downwards when she realized all that she had just agreed to. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

For Emma, she spent the rest of the week like she was floating on air. She had bought Henry's presents with no problem. Now, however, she was stuck. She couldn't very well show up at Regina's without something for her. Since they had been acting civil towards each other, she supposed a lump of coal was now out of the question. Wine or liquor seemed too tacky. Jewelry would be too personal. No, she needed something unique. With only a few days left, she knew the place she would need to go. Just so happens, it was the last as well.

She made her way out of the sheriff's station and down the street. As she approached Mr. Gold's shop, she tried to push away any uneasy feelings. Opening the door, the familiar bell jingled. She made her way inside, looking around for something. The creepy dolls were definitely out of the question. She also guessed a windmill would just be wrong.

"Can I help you with something Sheriff?"

"I need a Christmas gift. Something unique."

"Well, you certainly came to the right place. Might I ask whom it's for?"

She looked at him warily, not knowing if she could trust him. "The Mayor was gracious enough to invite me to see Henry for the holidays. So…"

"Ah, so something for the young man. Might I interest you in…"

"No, it's not for Henry."

"Oh, for the Mayor then?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can't go over without a gift."

It came out more as more of a question than Emma intended. Gold turned to a shelf behind him and pulled out a simple box. Emma stepped closer as he removed the lid. Inside was a leather journal, almost maroon in color, with various Celtic knots surrounding a tree. There were two hooks resting on top that held it secure.

"It's an old journal. That, in the middle, is the tree of life. It has many different meanings, depending on the culture. Most see it as a sign of immortality. In Celtic culture, they attributed the symbol to qualities like wisdom, strength, and longevity."

Emma stood there a moment, running her hand over the top of the journal, before coming to a decision. "I'll take it."

Mr. Gold replaced the top of the box and moved to place it in a bag. Before she handed him her card for payment, a ridiculous thought, sure to be courtesy of Henry, crossed her mind, and lips.

"Wait, it's not, you know, cursed or anything is it?"

"I assure you, if that were even possible, I wouldn't waste it on a journal," he replied, taking the card from her hands.

Once finished, he handed the card, receipt, and bag to Emma. "Happy Holidays, Sheriff."

"You, too," she said distractedly.

The following Monday, she made her way to the Mayor's mansion. Not knowing if Henry still believed in Santa, she left the gifts in the car. Though, seeing that he believed in fairy tales, she was sure he would still think Santa was real. She rang the doorbell and the looked down again to make sure she didn't have any wrinkles on her shirt. Emma had decided upon wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans and the shirt that actually belonged to Regina. Hoping that it wasn't too dressy and at the same time not too casual, she found herself looking down when the Mayor opened the door.

Looking outward, her eyes came upon a pair of knee high boots, followed by a long expanse of skin. The skin stopped where the dress started. There, in front of her eyes, was Regina in a crimson dress. But no, not just any dress. It was a dress with the zipper in the front. _Holy shi…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a clearing of a voice. "Good evening, Ms. Swan."

Emma quickly brought her gaze up and was greeted with an all knowing smirk. Knowing she was caught and praying to anyone who would listen that her blush wasn't too evident, she returned the smile. "Good evening, Madam Mayor."

"Come in, Henry's setting the table."

Emma slid past Regina, thankfully without any touching body parts. She was sure she was about to explode from her senses being on overload already. That thankfulness quickly went out the door as Regina stepped up behind her, reaching for her coat. And again, like the week before, there was some sort of spark when the Mayor's hands made brief contact with Emma's shoulders.

Laughing nervously, Emma said, "Static. Ha."

The moment was broken by a 10 year old bounding into Emma.

"You came! But, where's your presents?"

"Henry!" Regina scolded.

"Actually, with all the fairy tale business, I kinda thought you might still believe in Santa."

"Emma, that's ridiculous. Of course Santa isn't real. There's no magic here," Henry said as a matter of fact.

"Right, of course. Silly me! I'll go grab them now."

Emma ran out to her car and grabbed the bags, hoping against hope that this wasn't a horrible idea. Making her way back into the foyer, she turned expectantly towards Regina. "Where to?"

Regina simply walked into the family room where the tree was set up and already had presents lined around and under it. She deposited the presents from her bags, only to remember Regina's present was among them. Hopefully, she would be able to get to it later before Henry saw it. Turning, she saw Regina and Henry waiting for her. "Dinner time?"

"Still ruled by your stomach, I see."

"Hey, can you blame me after walking in to the aromas in this house?"

"No, I suppose not," Regina said, leading them to the dining room.

Dinner was all too quick for Emma's nerves. But, soon after the dishes were cleaned and put away, Henry, with way too much energy, was ready to bounce up from his chair. Emma felt at a loss, not knowing what kind of traditions they had. Henry was looking at Regina expectantly.

"Two. One from me and one from Emma."

"Yes!"

He jumped from his chair and went into the family room. It was Emma's turn to look at Regina for answers as they followed their son.

"Christmas Eve, I let him pick one gift to open. But, seeing as there are some from you as well, he can open two this year. Hence, the ball of energy that just blazed by us."

They stood at the entrance to the room, watching Henry standing back and surveying the presents in front of him. Having had the time to scope out the options from Regina, he already knew the one he wanted for the night and set off after it. Now, however, was his turn to pick from the pile from Emma. Watching him, Emma soon realized where he was close to.

"Hey, mom. There's one for you."

Regina graciously took the present from Henry as he sat down to open his. She gave Emma a look to the side, seeing the blonde looking anywhere but at her.

"It's nothing really. You can wait if you don't want to open it now."

Seeing the nervous woman next to her, Regina knew she wanted to open it now. "And let my son have all the fun? Not a chance."

Of course, the brunette was one to open a present carefully. She slid a nail underneath the many, many pieces of tape. When she finally slipped the present free of the paper, her breath was taken away. The leather book was magnificent. She opened the hooks and turned the pages to find them blank.

"Emma," she softly started.

"Like I said, it's really…"

"Wow! That looks really old," the young boy interrupted her."

"Yes, dear, it is. And it's truly an amazing gift. Thank you, Emma."

Upon hearing her first name spoken, Emma didn't know what to think. Her brain completely short-circuited when the older woman wrapped her arms around Emma for a hug. This time, the shock between them was no ignorable. The two women slowly parted and looked into each other's eyes.

"You have to kiss now," Henry stated.

"What?" came from both women.

"The mistletoe. It's tradition. You have to kiss under it."

The 10 year old turned back to examine the presents he had opened. Upon hearing his words, though, the two women were now looking at the other's lips. Emma was the first to react.

"Well, who are we to ignore tradition?"

Leaning forward slowly, giving Regina every chance to back out, Emma let their lips connect. This time, the spark was felt through both of their bodies. She pulled back with a gasp.

"Is it true? All of it?"

"Yes, Emma. I'm Santa Claus."

"What the…Regina! Was that a joke?"

Laughing, Regina placed her arms around Emma's neck and leaned in again. "Dear, remember, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Maybe not, but I fully intend to find out," Emma said, sneaking in another kiss.

"Merry Christmas Emma," Regina said against her lips.

"Merry Christmas Regina."

And, thus, the Mills-Swan new family tradition started.


End file.
